Yarn travel control apparatus



Oct. 23, 1956 F. s POLLOCK, JR 2,767,828

YARN TRAVEL CONTROL APPARATUS Filed Sept. 5, 1953 3 SheetsSheet 2INVENTOR FRANK SPOLLOCK JR ATTORNEY Oct. '23, 1956 r-z's. POLLOCK, JR 8YARN TRAVEL CONTROL APPARATUS Filed Sept. 3, 1953 3 Shets$heet 3 III/IIIIIIIII I Z.- m 12 iii\\\\ a IOITEB+ZONE4 l l .\L A

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FRANKPOLLOCIQJR J: ZONE ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofiiice 2,767,828Patented Oct. 23, 1956 2,767,828 YARN TRAVEL CONTROL APPARATUS Frank S.Pollock, Jr., Wilmington, Del., assignor to E. I. du Pont de Nemours andCompany, Wilmington, DeL, a corporation of Delaware ApplicationSeptember 3, 1953, Serial No. 378,270 Claims. (Cl. 203-320) Thisinvention relates to apparatus for the control of yarn travel and isapplicable alike to yarn guiding, yarn guiding and windup and also toyarn advancing operations with relatively simple, inexpensive changes inone of the elements.

A great variety of yarn guiding and yarn guiding and windup mechanismshave been developed in the art but these possess disadvantages in thatmany of them have elements in contact with the yarn which do not travelat the same speed as the running yarn and, therefore, subject the yarnor the apparatus to excessive wear at contacting surfaces which isdeleterious to the product and the apparatus alike. Furthermore, thesemechanisms are conventionally designed for use with a fixed number ofyarn ends and cannot be adapted to the processing of a different numberwithout extensive changes or a complete substitution of one device foranother. Many yarns, particularly those made from polymeric materialssuch' as polyamides, for example, have high inherent stresses impartedto them in the course of manufacture and are best wound in a relaxedcondition, so that crushing of the bobbins and of the lower layers ofyarn on the package can be forestalled, and presently available windupapparatus has not been completely satisfactory in this regard. The trendin yam manufacture is toward the winding of larger packages within aminimum of space for the winding apparatus per se and, while manydifferent types of apparatus developed for the textile trade are adaptedto winding large packages, the excessive space requirements ofconventional apparatus have been objectionable. A further disadvantageof most of the commercially available equipment is that non-uniformdyeing occurs at points in the cake where a large number of wraps ofyarn lie in close proximity to the edges of the package, a conditionwhich results when the traversing action of the apparatus does notsufficiently distribute the yarn during winding. A yet furtherdisadvantage is the crushing of a single lay of yarn, commonly known asribboning, due to the close overlay of a multiplicity of subsequentlywound wraps, another result of failure of traversing action todistribute the yarn evenly along the axis of the package. The yarnguiding and windup embodiment of this invention is intended to permityarn, which term is hereinafter used to comprehend filaments, threadsand the like as well, to be wound at highspeeds with better results atlower first cost for the apparatus with a minimum of space foraccommodation of the equipment.

Much progress has been made in recent years in the design of yarnadvancing reels; however, the mechanisms utilized for yarn advancing arecomplicated, expensive to manufacture and maintain, and also are singlepurpose in nature. The yarn advancing embodiment of this invention hasadvantages of simplicity of construction, and therefore economy, and isalso adapted to ready conversion from yarn advancing service to yarnguiding and windup service if manufacturing requirements necessitate,

thus providing a flexibility in this regard which has not hitherto beenachieved.

An object of this invention is, then, to provide a yarn travel controlapparatus which, as a yarn guiding device, is an improvement over otherdevices known to the art. Another object is to provide a guiding andwindup device which is adapted to wind yarn at high speeds withprovision for relaxing the yarn between the apparatus and the windupbobbin under conditions wherein the differential speed between therunning yarn and the surfaces of the apparatus is substantially zero.Other objects common to both yarn guiding and yarn guiding and windupinclude providing flexibility in the accommodation of multiple end yarnsin the same apparatus by relatively simple changes, adaptability toprocessing relatively large packages of controlled layer pattern, and toaccomplish all of the foregoing objects by apparatus low in first costand maintenance and extremely compact as regards mill space. Yet anotherobject of the invention is to incorporate in yarn guiding and guidingand windup appara-tus high speed traversing features which permitpositive control of yarn travel at all times and which are fixed withrespect to the rotating elements making up the apparatus, asdistinguished from the high inertia reciprocatory traverse devices whichare conventionally employed in textile manufacture. Still another objectis to provide a yarn travel control apparatus which, as a yarn advancingdevice, is simple in construction and readily convertible into a yarnguiding or yarn guiding and windup apparatus cheaply and quickly. Themanner in which these and other objects of this invention are obtainedwill be apparent from the detailed description and the followingdrawings in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross section of a preferredembodiment of yarn guiding and windup apparatus according to thisinvention which is adapted to the winding of a single cake but which canbe readily converted to the simultaneous winding of two, three, four orfive cakes, depending upon requirements, only two guide elements, x andy, being shown to facilitate understanding of the invention,

Fig. 2 is partial section taken on line 22 of Figs. 1 and 3,

Fig. 3 is a developed diagram of the outside surface of the outer shellof the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2, somewhat reduced in size, showingschematically the lines of yarn travel taken during the winding of fromone to five cakes, the effect of the ribbon breaking eccentric not beingdepicted,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged end elevation view of a single guide elementlooking in the direction of the yarn guiding surface, the guide being ina position approaching an outer shell slot, showing a preferredconstruction of guide element and its support with respect to theapparatus of Figs. 1 and 2,

Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, are schematic representations of differentembodiments of yarn guiding and windup apparatus according to thisinvention wherein a showing of the guide elements and the slots in theouter shells is omitted in the interests of simplicity ofrepresentation,

Fig. 5 being an embodimentwherein the inner and outer shells areindependently driven,

Fig. 6 being an embodiment wherein the outer shell is driven by acentral shaft and the outer shell in turn drives the inner shell througha gear arrangement,

Fig. 7 being an embodiment wherein the drive shaft is substituted forthe inner shell and the shaft and its surrounding shell are supported onspaced bearings which may be a considerable distance apart, thusproviding a very large windup surface particularly adapted to themultiple end simultaneous winding of six or more cakes,

Fig. 8 being an embodiment wherein the outer shell is J journal edeccentrically within the central shaft of the apparatus, and

Fig. 9 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of yarn advancingapparatus according to this invention, the showing being limited to thetwo shells co-operatively effective to advance the yarn along the pathindicated in broken line representation and a portion of the outer shellbeing broken away to show the relative locations of the yarn guides inthe first two rows of guides carried by the inner shell.

Generally, the objects of this invention are attained by providing anouter tubular shell-inner cylinder apparatus, the outer shell of whichsurrounds the inner cylinder, which may also be a tubular shell, theouter shell being provided with slots, and the outer shell being incontact throughout its solid expanse with the running yarn over a partor all of its outside periphery, depending upon whether the device isused for yarn guiding and yarn guiding and windup service or for yarnadvancing service, respectively. The inner cylinder is disposedeccentrlcally with respect to the outer shell with its axissubstantially parallel to the axis of the outer shell and is providedwith a plurality of guide elements arranged thereupon in the windingpattern it is desired to maintain, the disposition of the outer shelland the inner cylinder with respect to one another being such that, uponrotation of both in unison, the guide elements of the inner cylindersuccessively advance into and retract away from the yarn path throughthe slots cut in the outer shell, thereby moving the yarn laterally tocontrol positively its travel. Where the invention is employed as a yarnguiding and windup device the windup bobbin is preferably disposed incontact with the outer shell at a region wherein the guide elements arecompletely retracted, and thus the outer shell turns the bobbin byfrictional engagement therewith at the same or substantially the samesurface speed as that at which the outer shell turns. An oscillatingeccentric connection for the inner cylinder is optionally provided forthe yarn guiding and windup device to achieve random winding within thechosen pattern for the purpose of eliminating ribboning. Where theinvention is employed solely for yarn guiding, as distinguished fromguiding and windup, the bobbin, or the next following equipmentreceiving the yarn, if winding is not thereby conducted, may beindependently driven at a speed matching the shell-cylinder apparatus ofthis invention. The bobbin in such a case would be out of contact withthe outer shell of the apparatus, it being understood that theoscillating ribbon breaker may be used in conjunction with thisembodiment also if desired.

The yarn guiding and windup embodiments of the invention will first bedescribed with reference to Figs. l8 inclusive. As shown in detail inFigs. 1, 2 and 3, one embodiment of yarn guiding and windup apparatusaccording to this invention comprises the double-shell assemblyincorporating an outer shell 10 within which is eccentrically journaledan inner shell 11, both of which may be fabricated from steel or othermetals or materials. The assembly is journaled on a common drive shaft12 which is preferably of considerable length, permitting the mountingthereon of a multiplicity of guiding-windup units identical with theassembly described, the end configurations of the assemblies beingadapted to nest within adjacent neighboring units to provide the maximumyarn windup surface per unit length of drive shaft, the outline ofadjoining apparatus being indicated by broken line delineation in Fig.1.

The construction of the apparatus of Figs. 1-3 is hereinafter firstparticularly described with reference to the guiding and windup of asingle yarn end, after which the description proceeds to multiple endwinding.

Referring to Fig. l, the outer shell 10 is adapted to drive the innershell 11, although this relationship can be reversed, if desired, fornot only this embodiment but all of the other embodiments in a mannerhereinafter described. The outer shell 10 of Fig. l is provided with anannular closed end 13, the inner periphery of which fits between twodissimilar metal bushings 14 and 15, bushing 15 being securely attachedto spider 16, which is in turn attached to drive shaft 12 by key 17.Bushing 14 is securely attached to annular drive plate 22 which isspring-biased against the outer face of end member 13. This bushingarrangement permits a regulable frictional drive of the two she ls ofthe apparatus, driving engagement being obtained by the compression of aspring 21 retained against drive plate 22 by a collar 23 fitted over theend of spider 16, and retained in place thereon by drive pins 25, spring21 being backed by a conventional split retainer 24. Shaft 12 isrecessed at the points at which the several assemblies are mounted toreceive the two-part eccentric which comprises elements 28 and 2-9secured together as a unit by bolts 39. The eccentric is journaled onshaft 12 through bearings 31 and the inner shell 11 is in turn journaledon the eccentric through bearings 32. An expanding spring lock 33, theouter periphery of which is fitted into a mating recess on the innerside of shell 11, is interposed between the bearings 32 and thus acts asa spacer, and also serves as a lock for the friction-retainedgear-toothed sleeve 47 supported by shell 11 as will hereinafter bedescribed. The assembly is completed by a ring 36, bolted to theeccentric by several bolts 37, only one of which is shown in Fig. 1.Ring 36 provides the connection for oscillating the eccem trio in amanner eliminating ribboning and is drilled at a convenient point toreceive one arm of hell crank 33. Bell crank 38 is iournaled in bearing39 and is oscillated in a manner hereinafter described by eccentric 41)pow ered through shaft 41 from a source not shown.

The details of the gear construction are best seen in Fig. 2, the insideof the outer shell 10 being provided with a continuous succession ofgear teeth 42, which in this case comprise thirty-six in number cut withan odd pitch to accommodate the differential in speed with re spect tothe outer shell at which the inner shell 11 rotates. A portion of thespace between successive teeth of shell 10 is cut away to form slots 43for the advance and retraction of guides 44 spaced equidistantly aroundthe periphery of inner shell 11, the disposition and relative size ofthe slots 43 for this embodiment being shown in plan for onesixth of theperiphery of shell 10, i. c. Zone 1, in Fig. 3. Shell 11 is driventhrough gear teeth 46. which may be of standard pitch, which teeth areformed in sleeve 47. Sleeve 47 is undercut in the central region asindicated at 48, Fig. 1, but fits shell 11 tightly at the ends, so thatit is in secure engagement therewith. While sleeve 47 may be fabricatedfrom metal it is preferred, especially for high speed applications, toemploy a resilient material, such as a polyamide resin or rubber, eithernat ural or synthetic, or the like, to reduce noise and increase theoperating life. The attachment of sleeve 47 to shell 11 is strengthenedby spring lock 33, one end of which is provided with an outwardlydirected free end 49 which is passed through matching drilled holes inshell 11 and sleeve 47 at a point in the latter where it does notinterfere with any of the guides 44. The yarn windup bobbin 53 is shownin a position where it is out of the zone of guide advance andretraction and therefore is always in contact with the smooth surface ofouter shell 10, the rotation of which frictionally drives the bobbin, itbeing understood that bobbin 53 may be located at a variety of positionsaround the surface of shell 10 so long as it does not contact guides 44.The yarn is supplied to the apparatus, which is shown as rotating in acounterclockwise direction in Fig. 2, through a stationary pigtail orother conventional yarn guide 54 preferably disposed midway of thelength of shell 10 for winding on bobbin 53.

As will be seen from Figs. 1, 2 and 4, yarn guides 44, of which thereare thirty in number in the specific construction hereinabove described,are solid metal members provided at the top with a smooth, inclinedyarn-contacting surface 55 and at the base with a T-ilange which isadapted to abut the inside surface of sleeve 47 within the clearance 48.Guides 44 are preferably slightly tapered at their yarn contacting ends(refer Fig. 4) and, as will be hereinafter described in detail, areadapted to be inserted through pre-drilled holes provided in sleeve 47to present any preselected pattern to the single or multiple yarn endsit is desired to guide, or to guide and wind.

Referring to Fig. 3, the disposition of the yarn guides 44 with respectto shells 10 and 11 is shown, together with the path of yarn trackingeffected by the guides with respect to the developed surface of outershell 10. As will be noted specifically in Fig. 1 for yarn guides x andy, and as represented generally in Fig. 3 for all of the yarn guides 44,the surfaces 55 of the guides are inclined in the direction in whichyarn travel is to be effected and, of course, the inclinations ofsuccessive groups of guides are reversed where the direction of traverseis to be reversed. It will be further noted (Fig. 3) that successiveguides are spaced apart axially of the shells an amount less than onefull guide width. For simplification in representation only the slots 43in one-sixth of the peripheral expanse of shell 10 are shown in Fig. 3;however, the dispositions of the entire thirty guides 44 carried byinner shell 11 at the beginning of a complete traversing cycle for asingle yarn end are shown in solid line representation, it beingunderstood that slots in shell 10 are of course provided for each ofthese guides, which slots repeat the pattern detailed for Zone 1. Itwill be noted that the dispositions of seven other guides 44 aredepicted in dotdash representation in Zone 6 which, as will hereinafterbecome clear, delineates the positions taken by the guides of Zone 1during each final one-sixth of a revolution of shell 1%}. In addition,the full complement of guides 44 which, together with those shown infull line representation are necessary for multiple end winding, areshown in dotted representation for Zone 1, it being understood that thispattern is repeated for each of the succeeding zones of Fig. 3 but thecomplex detailed showing of which is omitted from the drawing forclarity. As an aid in visualization, the dispositions of all guides inall of the zones for both single end and multiple end winding isindicated by the intersections of the paths of yarn tracking with thebroken line horizontals drawn parallel to the axis of shell 10 acrossthe full width of the shell, it being understood that the number ofguides utilized in any specific installation depends upon the number ofyarn ends being processed and that the total of the intersectionstherefore represents the maximum number of guides 44 necessary to guideand wind five yarn ends simultaneously and that lesser numbers arerequired for fewer ends, down to the thirty which have proved entirelyadequate for the windup of a 4 /8" face width single end yarn cake. Forthe latter device, the outside diameter of shell 10 was 8 /2", theoutside diameter of shell 11 was 6",.the eccentricity of shell 11 withrespect to shell 10 was the overall outside diameter of sleeve 47 was 6and the protrusion of guides 44 beyond the outside surface of shell 10at full advance was 7 the guides being A wide below inclined surfaces55, which had an inclination of 45. This design was adapted to theguiding and windup of yarn at a speed of 2.000 yds./min. with outershell rotating at 2700 R. P. M. and inner shell 11 rotating at 324D R.P. M.

In yarn guiding and windup applications of this invention, slots 43 arepreferably cut to the minimum length and width necessary to accommodatethe guides 44 required for the particular service at hand, for thereason that bumping of the yarn cakes during'build up by contact withthe slots is undesirable in that it interferes with even winding andmight also bruise the yarn. As shown in Fig. 3, three difierent lengthsof axially disposed slots 43, each proportioned to receive a differentnumber of guides 44, are suitable for the guiding and windup of anynumber of yarn ends from one to five in number, inclusive, it beingunnecessary with this design to substitute a different shell 19 for theone detailed upon discontinuing the windup of a certain number of endswithin the range one to five hereinabove stated and commencing thewindup of a different number of ends. It will be apparent that helicallycut slots of sufiicient length to encompass several or all of thesuccessively staggered guides 44 in adjacent rows may be substituted forthe straight-sided. slots shown in Fig. 3, and that such helical slotsmay in some circumstances be more economical in manufacture than thestraight slots, while at the same time eliminating bumping of thewinding cake. Where helically cut slots are em ployed, guides 44 may beoffset a slight degree along helices to make them conform more closelyto the slot openings, in which case successive guides across the widthof sleeve 47 will not of course lie along horizontal lines, in thepattern shown in Fig. 3, but along helical lines.

Referring to Fig. 3, the operation of the guiding and windup apparatuswill first be described for the winding of a single yarn end. Traversingwill, in this case, occur between the extremes denoted by guide x on theone hand and guide y on the other and it is convenient, for the specificapparatus detailed, to regard the peripheral surface of outer shell 10as comprising six separate zones numbered chronologically in Fig. 3 fromthe bottom to the top, the yarn being traversed in sequence in theascending order of zone numbers. For the design detailed one completerevolution of the inner shell 11 will have oc curred at the end of Zone5, whereupon a new cycle of traversing is initiated at the beginning ofZone 6, although a complete rotation of outer shell 10 is not completeduntil the end of Zone 6 is reached during rotation. It will beunderstood that Fig. 3 depicts the instantaneous axial disposition ofthe yarn with respect to shells 10 and 11 but that, in the yarn guidingand yarn guiding and windup embodiments of this invention, only aportion of the outer peripheral surface of shell 10 is in contact withthe yarn at any one time, as clearly indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

With a single end cake the yarn is laid against any one of the line ofguides shown in full line representation in Fig. 3 whereupon, after thecompletion of five rotations of outer shell 10 the yarn will havefollowed the tracks denoted a, b, c, d and e, although not in the orderrecited. This movement of the yarn constitutes six complete to and frotraverses, or one for each rotation of inner shell 11. As an aid intracing the course of the yarn from the guide x (path a) through acomplete rotation of outer shell 10 it will be seen that the yarn isguided from left to right, as seen in Fig. 3, from the beginning of Zone1 through to the middle of Zone 3, i. e., to guide y in the last row ofguides in sequence from the left, where the yarn course reverses andreaches the left-hand guide 44 at the end of Zone 5. The guiding of theyarn is effected by lateral displacement of the yarn by the sequentialadvance of guides 44 through the slots in shell 10, the higher points ofthe guides being the first to contact the yarn, after which theprogressively lower expanse of each surface 55 obtrudes across thenormal path of the yarn, thereby shifting the yarn laterally. At the endof Zone 5 only five-sixths of the rotation of shell 10 has occurred,therefore the same guiding pattern occurs for the duration of therotation of shell 10 in Zone 6 as occurred in Zone 1, the yarn thenreaching the middle guide 44 at the end of Zone 6 (or the beginning ofZone 1). At this point the yarn takes the course shown by track 0,running from the beginning of Zone 1 to the eX- treme right guide inZone 2, then reversing and running to the left-hand guide at the end ofZone 4, thence to the right-hand guide at the beginning of Zone 1. Theyarn then takes its course along track e, following which it passes totrack d during the succeeding revolution of shell 11, and to track bduring the final revolution. The cycle then repeats itself in theentirety.

As seen in Fig. 2, the operation of the apparatus involves theprogressive advance and retraction of the several guides 44 through theslots 43, which deflect the yarn in the pattern detailed in Fig. 3. Theperipheral speed of bobbin 53 is the same as that of outer shell 10,from which 53 is driven, therefore there is no differential velocity,except perhaps some slight differential due to slippage, of the yarnwith respect to shell 10, and thus neither the yarn nor the shell isexposed to a wearing action in the course of operation. The guidingsurfaces 55 of guides 44 have a relatively low differential velocitywith respect to the running yarn and furthermore are in intermittentcontact with the yarn so that there is very little wear of either thesurfaces or the yarn due to this contact. Under these conditions it willbe apparent that the windup is substantially tensionless and that theyarn is relaxed throughout the area of contact with outer shell andduring windup on bobbin 53. This is particularly advantageous in cwinding of some polymeric yarns which may cont rather high residualstresses which should be relieved before yarn is wound into a cake,otherwise the inner layers of the cake are subjected to extremely highand sometimes damaging compressive stresses.

A further advantage of the device of this invention is that yarnguiding, with or without associated windup as hereinabove described, canbe conducted at very high speeds, windage and other interferencesaccompanying high speed processing being overcome by the simpleexpedient of employing a companion set of guides 44 on the opposite sideof the yarn track with yarn contacting surfaces oppositely inclined tothe primary set, so that the yarn travels between closely spaced pointsalong its full line of traverse. In this connection, all of the slots 43of Fig. 3 are of sufficient length to accommodate at least one pair ofguides 44 in the same guiding position, except the two extreme positionsfor each zone; however, the latter can be easily enlargedcorrespondingly if it is desired to employ double guides throughout.

Turning now to operation in the guiding and windup of multiple end yarncakes, the simultaneous winding of five yarn ends will first bedescribed with reference to Fig. 3. As hereinabove mentioned, the onlychange in the apparatus necessary to convert from single end processingto multiple end processing is the alteration of the guide pattern by thechange in number and disposition of guides 44 in sleeve 47. In thesimultaneous winding of five cakes, the full pattern of the thirtyguides and guiding shown in Fig. 3 is not altered; however, other guidesare added and disposed as shown in dotted line representation in Zone 1,the complete pattern, inclusive of both solid and dotted guides, beingrepeated (not shown in Fig. 3) for all succeeding zones. Operation iscommenced by placing a yarn end, supplied from its own individualpigtail 54, against a guide in the path it is desired that the yarnfollow. Thus, the first yarn might be placed against guide x, the secondagainst the next succeeding guide to the right of guide x on the samehorizontal line, the third against the second guide to the right ofguide x on the same horizontal line, and so on, it being understood thatplacement against any other guides along the proper individual yarntracks is equally satisfactory and that the foregoing order is recitedmerely for convenience in description.

A typical pattern for multiple end processing will then be, for thefirst yarn end, from guide x along track (1 until the intersection oftrack a with track b, whereupon the yarn traverse is reversed andcontinued along track b to the first row of guides at the beginning ofZone 2, when the pattern is repeated for each succeeding zone, therebeing one complete to and fro traverse in each zone. Similarly, theother ends will follow non-interfering definite tracks, the second endfrom the left in Fig. 3 taking the course b-a-d-b-e-d-c-c-ac-b-a andrepeating, the third taking the course c-d-a-e-b-c-d-a-e-b-c-d andrepeating, the fourth taking the course d-c-e-ac-b-a-d-be-dc andrepeating, and the fifth end taking the course e-e-c-c-a-a-b-b-d- (1-0-2and repeating. Obviously, if it is desired to process a number of endsless than five, only the guides defining the pattern required for thespecific processing to be conducted are employed, the other guides beingdispensed with, in which case the widths of the cakes obtained will allbe equal and will be determined by the extent of traverse obtainedbetween the first row of guides in each one and the fourth row. If widcrcakes are desired in the processing of less than five ends, it will beapparent that the pattern of predrilled holes in the sleeves 47 and thedisposition and number of guides 44 attached to the sleeves may bevaried to suit all possible requirements in this regard. The designdescribed is therefore extremely flexible in adaptation to a widevariety of yarn processing applications, ready alteration of sleeves 47or their replacement being accomplished by disengagement of the on lockmember 33 by depressing its end 4) inwardly .a sliding the sleeves fromtheir associated inner 11, the outer shells being first dismounted fromthe assembly to provide clearance for withdrawing the guides from theslots.

When the ribbon breaking auxiliary is employed with the windup apparatusof this invention, as is usually advantage-nus, I have found that aratio of about 15:1 in terms of the R. P. M. of shell 16 to the R. P. M.of eccentric 4i: achieves good results. it will be understood that hereis nothing particularly critical about this ratio and that other widelydiflcrent ratios may be utilized to advantage, depending upon thecircumstances. It is preferred to feed the yarn to the apparatus at sucha point with respect to the location of the bell crank that theeccentric motion preserved during ribbon breaking amounts to about 15forward motion, i. e., in a direction measured from the infeed point oftangency of the yarn toward the package, to about 15 backward motion,the backward motion not only breaking the ribbon but also cyclicallynarrowing and widening the cake (not indicated in Fig. 3). Theapproximate locations of the various elements shown in Figs. l3 are suchthat the foregoing ribbon-breaking action is obtained and, duringoperating experience with this design, it was found that good ribbonbreaking was attained even in the primary region where the diameter ofthe wound yarn cake equaled that of shell ll, and also at multiples ofintegers of this region.

There are numerous other driving and supporting orrangernents which canbe devised for the apparatus of this invention, those shown in Figs. 5,6, 7 and 3 being merely representative and not to be consideredlimiting. For purposes of simplification in representation theseembodiments have been shown schematically with only the outer and innershells detailed, it being understood that the arrangement of guides andslots is similar to that hereinabove described in detail, except that,of course, it will be understood that a wide variety of guide patternsmay be utilized to achieve particular desired results.

Referring to Fig. 5, there is shown an embodiment wherein the outershell 10 and the inner shell 11 are independently driven, shell 10 beingsecured to drive shaft 12 by key 17 while shell 11 is journaled oneccentric 28-29, rotatably mounted on shaft 12, through bearings 58 andis driven by a gear set 59--6t) powered from shaft 61.

Fig. 6 shows another embodiment in which shell 10 is provided with aninternal drive gear 65 integral therewith which mates with the annulardrive gear 66 integral with shell 11. Shell 10 is keyed to shaft 12 at17 and shell 11 is journaled on eccentric 28-29, rotatably mounted onshaft 12, through bearings 67. With this construction it will beunderstood that conventional pitch gears may be utilized for the driveas distinguished from the odd-conventional pitch relationship describedfor the embodiment of Figs. 1-3.

Fig. 7 depicts a design of the apparatus which is especially preferredfor the winding of a large number of multiple ends, since a relativelylong working area of shell is presented to the yarn. In this case twoexternal bearing housings 69 are provided to support outer shell 10 anddrive shaft 12, shell being journaled on bearings 70 while shaft 12 isjournaled on bearings 71. In this construction, shaft 12 may be solid,as shown, or tubular and is adapted to replace the inside shell 11 ofthe embodiments hereinabove described. With the construction of Fig. 7,a guide element carrying sleeve (not shown) concentrically fitted overshaft 12 is provided which is similar in all respects to sleeve 47 ofFigs. 1 and 2, except that there is no driving connection between outershell 10 and this sleeve, gear teeth 46 being omitted. Instead, shell 10is driven from split gear '72, keyed to shaft 12, through internal gear73 integral with the shell. 'As in the case of the construction of Fig.6, standard pitches can be used for gears 72 and 73. It will be notedthat no ribbon breaking eccentric 38 continuously varying theinstantaneous position of the yarn contacting shell with respect to theyarn guide-carrying inner rotating element is shown for the embodimentof Fig. 7, this omission being to facilitate the representation.However, it will be understood that ribbon breaking can be readilyincorporated in the design by providing identical eccentrics betweenshell 10 and bearings'70 within each of the housings 69 andco-ordinating the movements of these eccentrics by use of a commondrive, or in other ways known to the art.

The construction of Fig. 8 is sometimes advantageous where a compactarrangement of apparatus is necessary and an outboard mounting isdesirable. In this case the inner shell 11 is journaled on shaft 12through bearings 77, whereas the outer shell 10 is journaledeccentrically within the outer end of shaft 12 through bearings 78,ribbon breaking action being thus obtained by movement of the outershell with respect to the inner shell rather than in the reverserelationship described for the preceding embodiments. Shaft 12 isprovided with an extension 79 which is journaled in the frame of themachine through bearings 80, shaft 12 being oscillated through hellcrank 38 pinned at 76 to the inside end of 79. The drive arrangement forthe apparatus of Fig. 8 is through pinion 82, driven by power shaft 83,which engages with annular gear 81 integral with shell 10. Inner shell11 is driven by outer shell 10 in the same manner as hereinabovedescribed for the embodiment of Figs. 1-3 inclusive. It will beundersood that the design of Fig. 8 requires some freedom of movementbetween the meshing gear teeth radially of shaft 12 during operation;however, this movement is relatively small and can be accommodatedsatisfactorily by the use of involute gear teeth for all the drives.

One embodiment of yarn advancing apparatus according to this inventionis shown in Fig. 9, elements having functions common to the functions ofthe elements hereinbefore described for the yarn guiding and yarnguiding and windup embodiments being designated by the same referencenumerals. No details of driving or supporting mechanism are delineatedin Fig. 9, it being understood that wide modifications in these respectsare possible, as indicated in the previous Figs. 1-8. For purposes ofexplanation it is assumed that outer shell 10 of Fig. 9 is provided withinternal gear teeth, not shown, which mesh with companion gear teeth onsleeve 47 in the same manner as already described for the apparatus ofFigs. l-3.

Sleeve 47 is provided with a multiplicity of guides 44 arranged in ahelical pattern axially of the sleeve, the offset of adjacent teeth inthe direction of yarn advance being slightly less than one guide width.With this disposition each guide in turn contacts the yarn at the pointwhere it is left by the preceding guide, thereby shifting the yarnpositively from right to left as seen in Fig. 9 and as represented bythe continuous helical yarn track described around the full periphery ofshell 10 and shown in broken line representation in Fig. 9. Thus, withthe shells rotating in the direction of the reader, yarn fed in to guidex from a pigtail or other device not shown, is shifted a distanceslightly less than one guide ,1 width to the left by the guide followingguide x, shifted the same amount by guide y upon half a' revolution ofsleeve 47, and this process repeated over the operative length of shell10. Initial thread-up is effected by merely laying the yarn adjacentguide x and taking one turn around shell 10 to the next guide in thesame row as x. Since all guides are disposed on spacings with referenceto sleeve 47, outer shell 10 is provided with relatively long slots 43for the accommodation of all guides lying along any particular parallelto the axis of sleeve 47, the slots being seven in number for theapparatus of Fig. 9, although only four appear in this view. The yarn isshown leaving the apparatus at the exit point adjacent the upperleft-hand guide, although it will be understood that it can be drawn offelsewhere if desired.

In order to insure that the yarn will always contact succeeding guidesof the yarn advancing apparatus, it is desirable to overlap the spacingof successive guides somewhat, a typical apparatus constructed inaccordance with Fig. 9 employing six or eight guides 44 for each helixof yarn advance, which guides have a width in terms of projected face 55of A5 with a spacing between guides apart of A3" and a protrusion heightof A3" radially of shell 10 at full advance through slots 43. Ribbonbreaking not being required in yarn advancing operations, bellcrank 38and its powering eccentric 40 are dispensed with in this service. Itwill be apparent that the design of shell 10 and sleeve 47 may be easilylaid out so that each of these components may be utilizedinterchangeably for yarn guiding, yarn guiding and windup or yarnadvancing operations it manufacturing requirements necessitate or, inthe alternative, one or both of these components may be designed for onetype of service exclusively whereupon conversion would requiresubstitution of a special design of the component depending upon thechange.

From the foregoing it will be understood that this invention constitutesa means for yarn travel control adapted alike to yarn guiding, yarnguiding and windup and yarn advancing. Apparatus constructed accordingto this invention is capable of substantially tensionless ribbon-brokenwinding and is characterized by low wear of both yarn andyarn-contacting surfaces. In addition, the apparatus is low in firstcost and maintenance, c0m pact and easily convertible from one type ofservice to another.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerousmodifications may be made to this invention without departing from itsessential spirit, wherefor it is desired to be limited only within thescope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A yarn travel control apparatus comprising an outer tubular shellprovided with slots, a cylinder inside said shell, the axis of saidcylinder being substantially parallel to the axis of said shell and oneof the pair consisting of said shell and said cylinder being mounted ineccentric relationship with respect to the other, said cylinder beingprovided with yarn guides arranged in a pattern adapted to guide theyarn in a predetermined path, successive ones of said guides beingspaced apart axially of said shell and said cylinder an amount less thanone full guide width and being adapted to advance into and retract fromthe path of the traveling yarn through said slots during rotation ofsaid shell and said cylinder, and means for rotating said shell and saidcylinder in unison.

2. A yarn travel control apparatus according to claim 1 in which meansare provided for continuously varying the eccentric relationship of oneof the pair consisting o said shell and said cylinder with respect tothe other during rotation of said shell and said cylinder.

3. A yarn travel control apparatus comprising an outer tubular shellprovided with slots, a cylinder inside said shell, the axis of saidcylinder being substantially parallel to the axis of said shell and oneof the pair consisting of enemas said shell and said cylinder beingmounted in eccentric relationship with respect to the other, a sleeveconcentrically mounted on the outside periphery of said cylinder, saidsleeve being provided with yarn guides arranged in a pattern adapted toguide the yarn in a predetermined path, successive ones of said guidesbeing spaced apart axially of said shell and said cylinder an amountless than one full guide width and being adapted to advance into andretract from the path of the traveling yarn through said slots duringrotation of said shell and said cylinder, and means for rotating saidshell and said cylinder in unison.

4. A yarn travel control apparatus according to claim 3 in which saidmeans for rotating said shell and said cylinder in unison comprise arotatable drive shaft axial with one of the pair comprising said shelland said cylinder, means securing the co-axial one of said pair fixedlyto said rotatable drive shaft, and intermeshing gear teeth on the insideperiphery of said shell and on the outside periphery of said sleeve.

5. A yarn travel control apparatus according to claim 3 in which saidsleeve is fabricated from a relatively resilient material of the classconsisting of rubber and solid polymeric materials and said means forrotating said shell and said cylinder in unison comprise a rotatabledrive shaft eo-axial with one of the pair comprising said shell and saidcylinder, means securing the co-axial one of said pair fixedly to saidrotatable drive shaft, and intermeshing gear teeth on the insideperiphery of said shell and on the outside periphery of said sleeve.

6. A yarn travel control apparatus for yarn guiding and windup serviceaccording to claim 3 in which the pattern of arrangement for the slotsof said shell and the pattern of arrangement for said yarn guides ispreselected to permit interchangeably the winding of both a single yarnend and multiple yarn ends.

7. A yarn travel control apparatus for yarn advancing service accordingto claim 3 in which the pattern of arrange am for the slots of saidshell and the pattern of arrangement for said yarn guides is preselectedto advance the yarn helically along the outside periphery of said shell.

8. A yarn travel control apparatus comprising an outer tubular shellprovided with slots, a cylinder inside said shell, the axis of saidcylinder being substantially parallel to the axis of said shell and oneof the pair consisting of said shell and said cylinder being mounted ineccentric relationship to the other, a sleeve concentrically mounted onthe outside periphery of said cylinder, a multiplicity of yarn guidesretained by said sleeve in a pattern adapted to guide the yarn in apredetermined path, successive ones of said yarn guides being spacedapart axially of said sleeve an amount less than one full yarn guidewidth and said eccentric relationship being predetermined to cause saidyarn guides to advance into and retract from the path of the travelingyarn through said slots during rotation of said shell and said cylinder,and means for rotating said shell and said cylinder in unison.

9. A yarn travel control apparatus comprising an outer tubular shellprovided with slots, a second tubular shell inside said outer tubularshell having its axis substantially parallel to the axis of said outertubular shell but in eccentric relationship therewith, a rotatable driveshaft concentric with said outer tubular shell, a friction clutchcarried by said drive shaft with the driving member of said clutchfixedly secured to said drive shaft and the driven member of said clutchfixedly secured to said outer tubular shell, an eccentric of the sameeccentricity as the eccentric relationship of said outer tubular shelland said second tubular shell journaled on said drive shaft within saidsecond tubular shell, bearings carried by said eccentric on which isjournaled said second tubular shell, yarn guides arranged around theoutside periphery of said second tubular shell in a pattern adapted toguide the yarn in a predetermined path, successive ones of said yarnguides being spaced apart axially of said tubular shells an amount lessthan one full guide Width and said eccentric relationship of said secondtubu lar shell with respect to said outer tubular shell being such that,at the closest clearance between said shells, said yarn guidessuccessively advance into and retract from the path of the travelingyarn through said slots during rotation of said shells, and means forrotating said inner shell in unison with said outer shell.

10. A yarn travel control apparatus according to claim 9 in which saidyarn guides are provided with inclined yarn contacting surfaces.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,633,231 Pilcher Mar. 3i, 1953 2,649,645 Cole Aug. 25, 1953 FOREIGNPATENTS 566,009 Germany Dec. 9, l932

